Practical Solutions for Global Business Challenges

Practice Areas

At the Castañeda Law Firm, we provide business legal solutions on pace with the new global reality. The practice areas we focus on are based on our wide range of experience, both on the business side and on the legal side, in the United States of America and abroad.

Buying or Selling a Business

Represent buyers and sellers buying and selling businesses, from start to finish, whether in the form of a merger, equity or asset purchase.

Commercial Agreements

Draft and negotiate a wide variety of general commercial agreements, including letters of intent, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, independent contractor, consulting, and employment agreements, and agency, sales, supply, license, service, and distribution agreements.

New Business Ventures

Represent entrepreneurs and new businesses in all aspects of entity formation, organization and financing.

International

Outbound – Salvador’s business experience throughout Latin America prior to becoming an attorney, as well as his experience as a Texas-licensed attorney drafting and negotiating deals with local counsel, has allowed him to have a keen understanding of not just the language and culture, but also a firm grasp of business and legal terms and a wide network of contacts with law firms and other professionals throughout Mexico and Latin America. Whether it’s your first foray into a foreign country, or you need an experienced Texas licensed attorney who can help you find and work with local counsel, we have the experience and contacts to help you find the local solution that works for you.

Inbound – Represent foreign individuals, companies and institutional investors investing and doing business in the United States of America.

International Trade

Represent businesses with U.S. export compliance matters, as well as FCPA matters.

General Counsel Services

Advise clients with respect to day to day legal and business issues, including entity governance matters and strategic counseling services. Castañeda Law also has a wide network of professional business and legal specialists that can help resolve matters that require the assistance of foreign counsel or U.S. legal specialists, such as real estate, litigation, tax, intellectual property, import compliance and immigration.

About

Salvador D. Castañeda is the Managing Attorney of Castañeda Law Firm PLLC. Whether advising start-ups or Fortune 500 companies or navigating complex cross-border business transactions, Salvador Castañeda provides solutions on a wide variety of transactional matters, including structuring, negotiating and documenting the acquisition and sale of businesses, entering into relationships with new business partners, secured and unsecured credit facilities (on behalf of both borrowers and lenders), sales and distribution agreements for various goods and services, and private equity investments on behalf of institutional investors. The clients that Salvador has advised come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including telecommunications, manufacturing, commercial printing, oilfield services, software, health care, education, retailers, banks, institutional investors, family offices and private equity funds.

In addition to his U.S. transactional practice, Salvador regularly advises U.S. and foreign clients on multi-jurisdictional projects, coordinating projects with foreign professionals, and counseling senior management on business strategy. Salvador has represented clients in cross-border transactions in Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, Venezuela, and Uruguay.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Salvador worked with a global financial services company where he led a team of professionals in the due diligence and acquisition of distressed asset portfolios throughout Latin America. In this capacity, he analyzed, negotiated, and closed real estate and non-performing loan portfolios in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico with an aggregate principal balance in excess of $2 billion.

Prior to founding Castañeda Law Firm, Salvador practiced law at the largest law firm in Austin and one of the 100 largest international law firms in the United States, where he was a member of the Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, and International practice areas.

Salvador enjoys balancing his legal knowledge, business experience and cultural understanding to counsel U.S. clients trading with or investing in Latin American countries and foreign clients doing business in the U.S. A native Spanish-speaker, Salvador is also fluent in Portuguese and regularly negotiates and documents transactions in Spanish.

Represented one of the world’s largest financial services institutions in the negotiation of an equity investment in a private equity-backed portfolio company involved in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Appalachian Basin region of the United States. The investment consisted of both common and preferred equity interests. The target was backed by a leading private equity firm sponsor.

Represented subsidiary of publicly-traded global telecommunications company in various acquisitions of FCC wireless spectrum licenses from private sellers in markets across the U.S.

Represented a Spanish company in the acquisition of a majority of the outstanding equity interests of a Texas crane manufacturer

Represented oilfield services company in connection with its sale of certain well-testing and completion assets to a portfolio company of a publicly-traded closed-end investment company

Advised private equity sponsored company in its acquisition of an IT network infrastructure and hardware company

Represented French company in negotiating license agreements with U.S. company for sale of products in Mexico and the U.S.

Advised majority shareholder in the prospective sale of oilfield services company to a competitor

Advised privately-held healthcare IT consulting company in sale (by merger) to a competitor

Assisted team of professionals advising international airline in its successful worldwide international integration of two international airlines

Advised privately-held oilfield services companies in divestiture of assets to a competitor

Represented Mexican oil and gas services and construction company in the U.S. financing and acquisition of vessels to be used in Mexico

Advised foreign investors in the potential acquisition of oil and gas distribution company

Represented private company in sale of single frequency narrow line width lasers business assets to private competitor

Represented one of the top work gear and tool products manufacturers with operations in Texas and Mexico in its divestiture to private investors

Assisted private investors in the acquisition of onshore exploration and production assets in Peru in U.S. bankruptcy proceedings

Advised domestic and foreign individuals and companies on issues related to entity formation and corporate governance

Represented a leading provider of digital education resources in its Series A venture financing

Advised leading Mexican manufacturer in drafting and negotiating international sale, manufacturing and supply agreements with U.S. counterparts

Advised U.S. financial institution regarding the restructure and sale of loans with real and personal property collateral in Mexico and the U.S.

Acquisition due diligence of U.S. steel products manufacturer with subsidiaries and facilities in Brazil and Mexico

Advised U.S. company in the control acquisition and due diligence of universities in Honduras, Mexico and Colombia

Drafted and negotiated commercial real estate leases for properties in Canada and the United States for international oil and gas services company

Advised companies on strategy, operations and compliance with various export control laws and regulations including: Antiboycott laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury, Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Economic and Trade Sanctions and Embargoes administered by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury and Commerce, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), for a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, software, medical devices, technology, oil and gas services, and financial services companies

Non-U.S. law in coordination with local counsel

Speaking Engagements

Organized and moderated presentations on “Doing Business with PEMEX and Recent Legal Reforms: Opportunities for Foreign Firms and Challenges Ahead” held at the Dallas Petroleum Club – Feb. 2009; “The Next Oil and Gas Reform in Mexico”, Headliners Club, Austin, TX – Jan. 2012

Presentation on U.S. Export Controls to faculty of Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas during the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) Executive Seminar on the U.S. Legal System held at The University of Texas at Austin (Presentation in Spanish) – Aug. 2009 and June 2010